NAIROBI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling depreciated 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar in May saddled by increased demand for the greenback.
The shilling declined from 100.40 at the end of April to 101.60 at the close of May, according to data from the Central Bank.
"The decline was mainly due to increased dollar demand by multinationals and importers towards the end of the month," Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm, noted in a brief Monday.
The bulk of the fall in May happened last week, where the Kenyan shilling depreciated by 0.5 percent against the dollar to close at 101.60 from 101.1 the previous week, mainly due to continued end-month dollar demand by oil importers.
However, on a year-to-date basis, the shilling has gained 1.6 percent against the dollar.
"In our view, the shilling should remain relatively stable against the dollar in the short-term, supported by stronger horticulture export inflows driven by increasing production and improving global prices and high forex reserves, currently at 9 billion dollars," said Cytonn.
